A Way to You
by The Pepper Pot
Summary: Pepper has been in love with her boss for a long time but when she gets her pretty, flirtatious new assistant things start to change.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is first fan fiction I've written in over a year, and the first solo project at all for six months. I'm very excited to work on it as I've had some brain crack for these two ladies for a long time and only now that university is out do I have time to work on it. Please, since it's been a while since I've written here, feel free to comment negatively (as long as it remains respectful) or positively. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

The first time Pepper met Natasha it was under a false identity, one Natalie Rushman who had been hired to be her personal assistant just as she was getting her feet on the ground as the new CEO of Stark Industries. It was a hectic and chaotic time in her life and though that did give her some slack in terms of making mistakes, she did think she should have noticed something as big as the fact that her new secretary had government ties, but she hadn't looked farther than the fact that she had been an underwear model in Japan, though neither had her boss. As enigmatic as the woman tried to be, there was something strange about her that Pepper could pick up right off the bat, though; the woman was perfect in every way. It was almost erie how her assistant could work so well and efficiently and how she could tell her information she needed before she could even ask for it and how she was always so eager to do her job. Frankly, the only person she thought could do that well at being someone's personal assistant had been herself but Natasha literally made it like there were two of her.

It was a week or so later that Natasha met Tony for the fist time that day when he had been taking lessons from his body guard and had insisted on seeing her. It was only in that meeting that she found out that Tony hadn't been the one to find her and had never in fact met the woman before; she could tell by the way he looked at her, his first time meeting an attractive woman look. Pangs of jealousy went through her when he looked at her that way and she couldn't put her finger on why exactly; there were lots of women he flirted with, including her. There was something in the way, too that he brought up her pictures and flicked through them that made her want to watch and as much as she wouldn't think to look the pictures up later or remember that she was doing it now, she watched almost as intently as he did.

"Oh my god are you googling her?"

"Just looking her up."

"Stop ogling her."

"I thought I was googling her. I want one."

"No."

Pepper gave up on that front, but only because the owner of Stark Industry's body guard came crashing down inside the ring and Pepper's attention was snapped to it. "What just happened?" She'd seen the rough and tumble man deal with a lot and a model and secretary was surely one of the things that he could handle on even a day he wasn't feeling so hot. "Are you okay?" She wasn't entirely sure whom she was addressing with that statement as Happy was the one who looked hurt but Natalie the one whom she had expected to be hurt. However, it was Happy that slowly got up from lying down on the mats and her assistant who was both unhurt and agilely coming down from the ring and as if nothing had happened asked for Tony's impressions. As Pepper mad sure Happy was fine she listened to what Tony had to say with a slight smirk on her face; though she didn't admit it to anyone, even herself, she agreed with him.

The burly man got up and dusted himself off, and Pepper found herself relieved that he was okay; that had been a very hard fall on multiple levels and anyone could have been hurt by that. He leaned down to her and muttered, "don't know why you're so interested in Tony. He's a great guy but he'll always flirt with the ladies like that. Come on, let me take you on a date; you look stressed."

Pepper had long grown used to disappointing him, though she did feel badly about it; he was a friend of hers and he did mean a lot to him and she didn't like to see the look on his face when she declined. "I've been pretty busy lately; I don't know if this would be the best time to start a relationship, you know?" Behind her she kept an eye on the following as Tony got his impressions taken and casually hit on the woman he'd been eyeing for the last long minutes. "Miss Rushman, are you finished?" She wanted to get out of the awkward situation as quickly as possible and it was as if every encounter these days that involved the three of them was awkward.

The red haired assistant looked up from the marks she was getting and answered swiftly and formally, "Yes, Miss Potts," and started to put her things together and follow her out.

Pepper found herself wanting to know more about her, where she learned to do that and what her past really was; a few semi nude pictures and a resume hardly made a woman. But for some reason she didn't ask. In stead she went back to work, ever few minutes seeing her in and out of the office, not taking much notice of her as she did so. The world didn't stop because her secretary was just a little on the rough and tumble side and could seemingly take down one of the best body guards in the world. It just added the mystery surrounding her already extreme perfection and her impecable manners, the way that she was always so put together and had the right answer.

* * *

It was perhaps a day or two later that Natalie started flirting with her, just subtly. If Pepper hadn't been astute, she would probably have missed all the little things she did; the way she left her shirt unbuttoned a little more than she maybe should have or the fact that her heels were getting higher, the way she winked when she walked away, and sometimes got a little more touchy than was strictly needed. She couldn't say that she disliked it, however, and besides the fact that it was kind of cute that she was dressing up, Pepper didn't even know if the gestures were strictly intended towards her. As the days wore on, though, and the little touches continued, the way Natalie would look at her directly in the eye like every little things she said mattered, the latter of the two insecurities was found unfounded.

A little too early for comfort and yet well into Pepper's day, Natalie came in for work and came in with a steaming cup of coffee for her, which Pepper gratefully accepted from her. "Thank you, you're an angel." She knocked back the cup and practically groaned when she tasted the coffee and the energy it brought with it. She saw, however, that her assistant was still standing there looking at her expectantly, not making a single move to go away. "Is there something I've forgotten to do, Miss Rushman?" She tried to remember if she maybe wanted to be paid back for the coffee or something, but if that wasn't it she couldn't put her finger on it.

The assistant smiled and cocked her hip to the side as she stood, drawing Pepper's attention, but strictly not her gaze, down to it. "No, Miss Potts, you haven't forgotten anything. I just wanted to ask you had plans this evening?"

Pepper for a second didn't understand; if anyone would know if she had plans for the evening it would be her personal assistant, would it not? She tried to remember and then it hit her; she wasn't being asked about her business meetings or anything of the like. "Natalie, I'm not sure if that's the best idea." She was unsure about the idea of dating her assistant, and had never really considered dating a woman; it was always men for her. She let her eyes flick over her assistant. Maybe if she was fifteen years younger and still in the mood to experiment Natasha would have been the kind she would have chosen. She gave the same apologetic glance to Natalie that she had become accustomed to giving Happy.

The assistant was little deterred, however. "Are you sure, Miss Potts? You don't even have to be sure, I'm only asking for one date, it won't affect how we work together, and it'll be nice." Pepper had to admit, the other woman did sound inviting in her offer, Pepper had to admit that. It was just one evening, and in all honesty, she did like talking to the other woman and wouldn't mind getting to know her as friends maybe. There were a lot of things she admired about her like the way she dressed and the way she was able to be so perky and chipper in the morning.

She cocnseded, though not without a little warning. "Miss Rushman, I need you to understand, if we're going to spend the evening together, you really can't expect anything to happen. I'm very busy and also, I'm interested in men." It was entirely true. No matter how she found Natalie to be attractive, that didn't stop the fact that she was fairly sure she wouldn't want anything to do with kissing or otherwise touching the other woman. "But my answer is yes. I would like to get to know you better. As friends."

The other woman gave a little nod. "Of course, Miss Potts. I would hate to do something that might make you uncomfortable. Will seven o' clock work for you?" Natalie gave her a little questioning look.

Pepper thought through her schedule and then remembered that if Natalie was asking for seven, she had time for it. "Seven works for me, thank you." She got a little smile from the other woman before she turned on her high heel and went back to the desk on the outside of Pepper's office. Pepper's mind wandered and she idly worked at picking out the way that she was acting while she worked. On some level, she was very aware of what she was getting at and on another she was trying as hard as she could to justify it and tell herself that they were indeed just going to be friends and that was all.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, and welcome to this story. I'm so glad that you like the last chapter enough to come to this one. By the way, I'm not Marvel and I'm not Stan Lee or Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko or any of those guys. So I don't own this. But I'm writing it and you're reading it and it's all good. Enjoy.

* * *

Pepper's day had passed more or less as usual; she went to meetings with potential investors and had put out a fire or two in the various departments at Stark Industries. She'd been finding lately that this new job was really starting to ware her down. Though she'd always thought that her job as a personal assistant to someone as disorganized and in some ways childlike as Tony Stark was difficult and left her with stress lines and knots in her back, it was nothing compared to what her masseuse had found a week prior. The usually good feeling treat she gave herself at the end of the week had turned into a painful process of realigning her back muscles and then Alicja had been good enough to check the rest of her body for stress, which she had found in plenty. She had left feeling more sore and hurting, though thankfully stress free.

Six days later on Thursday, Pepper was tense again, tired, a little irritable at the end of a long day. She was more than a little tempted to just ask her to reschedule their date to that weekend or something like that when she wouldn't be so tired and might have more fun. But every time she had to walk in or out of her office to do something, the way that her assistant looked at her was in a way that she couldn't simply say no to. Try as she might on this one, she simply couldn't be Tony and say no to Natalie the way that he had said no to her all these years.

Therefore at five thirty when she called the close to her last meeting and made her way back to her office, she found that though her assistant had gone home for the day, there was a note on her desk telling her the name and location of the restaurant for which she had made reservations. Pepper recognized the name and bit her lip; it was a rather fancy place, the kind of restaurant real couples would go on real dates, not just the kind of place that friends would casually go for no good reason other than to get to know one another. This place would mean that she would have to change her clothes; a suit for a woman probably wouldn't be considered all that acceptable.

Pepper checked her watch. She had a little under an hour and a half to get home and change her clothes. _No,_ she reminded herself, _you can be a little late; this isn't work, this is making a friend. She'll understand._ With that she made her way home to drop off her things and fix her hair down from the pony tail she'd worn all day at work and put on a dress. It wasn't overly flirtatious or provocative, but it was nice and formal, not out of place for a date but also not the kind of thing that would say more than she wanted it to. Her watch was checked one last time as it was changed out with the rest of her jewelry for subtle pearl motif. She'd hate to make it look like she was trying too hard for this but really saw no other option but to look nice as the location was so formal. _I just want this to go well._

By the time Pepper arrived at the restaurant, she was running a little late, which she was thoroughly glad of; she'd hate to make her wait, but at the same time she didn't like the idea that she would seem too eager for this. It was already starting to get dark and the sun was dipping low over the buildings and long shadows were cast into the streets. She entered the restaurant that she'd been a couple of times for actual dates with others in her past and looked around for her lovely assistant, recognizing her immediately and walking to her table. "This is a very nice place you chose. One of your personal favorites?"

Natalie had stood from her chair as she saw Pepper approach her and surprised her by taking her hand and kissing her on either cheek. Very formally, very European. Pepper raised an eye, and admittedly hadn't thought to kiss back until the second cheek. "Good evening, Pepper," she was greeted. It was the first time the other woman had called her by her first name alone and Pepper found it a little strange. "I don't come here often, but I've heard good things."

Pepper took a seat across from the one Natasha had occupied and smoothed down her dress. "You look very nice." It was clear that the other woman was indeed treating this like it was a date and not like it was just two people becoming friends. Just little things like her neckline being low enough to show off her cleavage and her shoes were a little formal for the occasion if it was just dinner.

"Hmm. You look very nice yourself, Pepper." That little grin that she gave was subtly flirtatious. Maybe less subtle and more obvious if Pepper had been willing to take it that way but all the same it was clearly meant to be a flirtation. Pepper had only muttered a little, "thank you," when Natalie continued on. "I was thinking we might order a bottle of wine? Do you have a preference?"

Pepper smiled and looked at the list. There was a specific Italian wine that she'd had the last time she was hear that was particularly good. "Maybe the chianti?" She looked up at Natalie questioningly. There was a knowing smile from the other side of the table. "Do you like that one?"

She nodded, then pointed it out. "Have you ever traveled in Italy?"

Pepper shook her head. "Well, I say no, but I've been a few times. Not for the sake if it being Italy, though. I've been because I accompany Mr. Stark everywhere and then there are business meetings. For pleasure, no." She could tell by the smile Natalie wore that she had been and gave her a look that said, _continue, I'm interested._

Just then the waiter came by to take their order. He spoke in what Pepper thought was a French accent and Natalie had of course picked up the queue and started chatting away to him in his native tongue, which caught Pepper off guard, not sure what to make of the fact that there as such a rapid conversation happening in front of her that she couldn't understand. After a couple of minutes, Natalie turned back to her with a smile. "I'm sorry, Pepper, it's just nice to meet people from abroad."

Pepper nodded. "Of course." It made perfect sense if Natalie herself had spent so much time abroad as a model and apparently touring Europe, or perhaps living there for a time. "Did you live in Italy as well, or were you just there for a vacation?" She found herself genuinely interested.

Natalie pondered. "I've been all over Europe. I suppose you could say that I lived there for a while but I was a visitor after a fashion to most countries." There was a little nod and a thoughtful look.

Pepper smiled at that. "I wish I was as well traveled as you are. You seem so...you just have a way about you that seems to be knowledgable about these things." She leaned back as the waiter came by again and poured the glass for Natalie and let her taste and sniff it and the way the other woman went about it in a pleasured business like way was unlike most women she'd ever seen. Again, rapid French was conversed and Pepper's glass was filled as well, the bottle taken away with the waiter.

"Well, you live long enough, I suppose." She drank from the dark liquid which now that they were so close together, Pepper noticed matched her hair very well.

Pepper took a sip of her own and put it aside, taking a roll from the basket and buttering it; she didn't want to get too tipsy. "You don't look like you've lived too long at all. I'm pretty sure you were born in '84, correct?"

There was clear surprise on Natalie's face. "Well, I didn't think you'd remember something like that." She smiled. "You've got a good head for numbers." The half empty glass of wine was put down next to her, swirled a little against the white table cloth.

Pepper watched it as she responded, "I've always been good with them. I was originally an accountant at SI." She started to look at the menu. She'd heard somewhere that the wine she'd ordered was particularly good with pastas, so she looked there first.

Natalie followed suit, quickly glancing over the dishes then looking at the back to see if there was something else. "Well, then maybe there's room at the top for me too." She looked up at Pepper with a little smirk.

The CEO looked up. "This job is killing me. If you'd like to be my replacement tomorrow, go ahead." She shook her head, wanting her old job back, to do what Natalie was doing now even if the pay was about half as good.

A look of genuine concern passed Natalie's face. "You should have more wine; it'll help to relax you." She looked at Pepper's mostly filled glass and then back at the woman herself. "Besides, there are health benefits to drinking red wine." She picked up her own glass to take another sip.

Pepper's face broke into a little smile. "I've always had to be the sober one." Between her and Tony, the later at high risk of being drunk at any time, she had to be sure that she was sober almost all of the time to clean up on the spot any messes he made. The waiter came back to them, bottle in hand, filling Natalie's glass and not even bothering to top of hers. He and Natalie spoke again and then they both looked to her expectantly. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I don't speak French-"

The waiter shook his head and spoke in barely accented English. "But I speak English, so it is alright."

Pepper smiled through her feelings and ordered the creamy pasta dish she'd wanted. Mental notes taken, the waiter left the both of them taking their menus as he went. Pepper raised an eyebrow at the other and then just took a sip of her wine, trying to remember what they had been talking about before their orders had been taken. "Hmm..." She took another few sips before putting the glass down. "But in addition, I've always gotten massages to keep me relaxed, or at least not twisted up with stress. My form can get really knotted." She took another sip before finishing her role.

Though barely a moment had passed, the Frenchman came by with light salads for them, and Pepper wondered if she had included it when she'd been so chatty with him before. Natalie smiled knowingly. "I've found that's a good way to regulate stress." She was seemingly ignoring the basket of bread beside her."

"From your modeling days?" Pepper found herself drawn to those, wanting to understand more about the woman that had become her secretary but about whom she knew nearly nothing. She began to eat her salad.

The other woman did a little head tilt. "Those, and it's just a good rule in general." The hand moved from her wine glass to the table cloth and made little circles in the fabric. "I like human contact. There's something so grounding about it. So real." She shook her head and for a moment Pepper was caught up in her words, thinking about her own experiences with the masseuse but also with people in general. Hand shakes, kisses.

She reminded herself that while the other woman was putting on all the moves she had, Pepper was still determined to keep this light and conversational and friendly. Just friendly. "I know a very good clinic; I'm assuming you're relatively new to the area?" She took another sip, determined to stay at one glass, though, if she was going to drive home and keep a clear enough mind for conversation with this one. She'd never had a woman try so hard with her before.

The small salad gone, she put her utensils aside and brought her hands away from it, sitting back. The red head held her glass as she leaned back against the back of her chair and smiled. "I'd like that very much. Thank you, Pepper." She drank and sat languidly, very relaxed now that she had a couple of drinks inside her.

Pepper smiled. "Of course. I'll email you the page tomorrow." The salads were brought away and a light broth came out, which Pepper also hadn't been expecting. She looked up to receive a little flirtatious wink from the other woman and sat back again as the waiter filled her glass and Natalie's. Pepper made a mental note as to where the end of her last glass had been and told herself not to drink past it.

"Thank you." The former model started to eat her soup and smiled. "He really knows what he's doing." She gestured down to the soup with her spoon.

Pepper looked at it. She could taste that it was good, but admittedly her tastes weren't as refined as Natalie's to know what it was that made it so. "Yes, I've had a lot of good experiences with this restaurant. I've always really liked their food." She reached over to grab a roll and started to grate it into the bowl and nudged it with her spoon, letting the bread soak the broth and thicken a little.

The other smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "Mhm. I usually like this one done better with leeks, but he makes the chives work. I'm pleasantly surprised." Pepper could only nod along to that and took another sip of her drink, giving a little sigh, the stifled effect of a yawn. She hadn't thought that she'd been overly overt with it but her ever astute secretary of course was able to pick up on it. "Job wearing you out?" She nodded a little hesitantly. "It'll get better."

Pepper took another sip of her drink, deciding to jut finish the glass; she deserved to finish it; she really was worked pretty hard. "It's just, I've worked hard days, but this is every day working until ten or later. I don't have time for anything anymore; it's work or I'm asleep. I cant remember the last time I was able to work out or-" she had been about to say or go on a date, "or anything really."

Natalie smiled and nodded, nearing the end of her bowl. "Oh, you'll get a handle of it, I'm sure." She smiled.

Pepper finished her food and again set her silverware in place, Natalie soon following suit. "You've had a job like this, that just doesn't seem to have an end?" She'd forgotten for a moment that Natalie could see the receipts of every email she sent through her work email and therefore knew how late she was up every night working, let alone when she got to bed. Their bowls were cleared and a moment later, the entrée came out.

Natalie smiled down at her duck dish and then over to Pepper. "If you'd like any, I'd be interested in trying your pasta; that looks fantastic." The fork and knife were raised delicately and she started to cut into her meal. "Sure." She took a bite, interested in trying her own dish first before recommending it. "It's really good, if you'd like to…" She looked for Natalie's unused bread plate which hadn't been taken away. "I can put some on your plate."

Natalie's eyes went to where Pepper was pointing and pushed the little plate towards her. "Thanks. Oh, I see they took yours." She picked up the plate and pushed the contents to her own and then put a piece of duck onto it and sent it back to Pepper. "No problem, though."

Pepper smiled and put the piece of duck on the side of her plate to eat later. "Than you, Natalie." It wasn't strange to call her that, but it was different in this context by far. Her hand went easily to the glass that still held her drink and then she took another bite of pasta, savoring it. _This is so good, what a good idea this was._ Between the good food and wine and the company, she was really starting to relax into the evening.

Natalie began to quietly eat her meal, sampling the pasta dish. "Oh, that is really good." She smiled up at Pepper as she quietly ate her duck and mushrooms.

Pepper finished her wine without meaning to; what she had heard was right and it did indeed to well with the pasta dishes. With the slight buzz and the ambiance of the room, she wasn't thinking about work for what felt like the first time in years though she'd only had the position a week. The waiter came back with the bottle. "It's quiet over here, you must like it," he teased, filling Natasha's and then reached for Pepper's.

She stopped him. "Thank you, but I think I've had enough." She put down her fork. "It is indeed very good. Thank you." She smiled at him warmly.

The waiter nodded. "Of course," and then returned to speak with Natasha. Pepper continued to eat through their conversation and found she had finished by the time they were done, the waiter smiling at her as he took her plate, and then Natalie's with her wave of having finished, though there was still good food there. No wonder she kept her figure so nice.

She put her finger on the table cloth in the middle of the table. "I was thinking of getting something for desert. But I only want a little. Pepper, will you share with me?" She looked up with a little smile, a little more flirtatious than would be normal for such a request.

Pepper cleared her throat, though her mind stayed foggy. "Sure, what were you thinking?"

The assistant thought for a moment. "Maybe either chocolate mouse, or the red velvet?" She tapped her tongue gently against her teeth in deciding.

Pepper waved the decision. "Both of those sound good." She smiled and watched the other in her decision making process. "Go ahead and pick whichever you want."

The assistant paused over the menu for another moment before picking. "I think I want the chocolate mousse." She closed it as the waiter came back to them. She spoke again, so that Pepper couldn't understand but the way she held up her thumb and pointer finger and the way the waiter looked at Pepper made her know that she had insinuated that they were on a date, which she supposed they were but only in a friends way, though without knowing what she had said exactly, she couldn't correct her without sounding paranoid.

Through her little flush, she folded her hands in her lap. "You make it sound like I'll have to brush up on my French." It was a bluff; with all she had to do now, bothering to cook dinner was an accomplishment.

"It's been useful for me on more than one occasion." She started on her fresh glass of wine and a moment later the dessert was brought out along with two coffees and she picked up her spoon, pushing it into the warm chocolate, taking a bite. "It's really good." Before she waited for Pepper to pick up her own spoon and feed herself, Natalie put some on the far side of the spoon and held it out to her. "Try some."

She spoke so earnestly that though the gesture was oddly romantic she smiled gently and took a bite of the chocolate off of Natalie's spoon which she could see was a little red with her lipstick. She swallowed. "You picked well." She sat back to pour creamer and sugar into her coffee, mixing it up the way she liked and taking a sip. It would help her stay awake for the road, at least.

Natalie smiled and took a sip of her own coffee black with a content little sigh. "I'm a pretty good judge of character." She smiled as if she had a private joke, which Pepper didn't inquire about.

"Really? Then how did you come to work for Stark?" She picked up her own spoon and took a bite of the dessert, though really she'd only wanted a little bit.

Again there was the little private joking face. "Hmm. I think you were the one who works for Stark. I work for you and thus far you've proven that you live up to everything you promised." Again that little wink with the final bite of their dessert.

Pepper blushed as they lingered over their dessert and the waiter came back with the bill. "Pay whenever you'd like. No rush," he said in English for Pepper's benefit. She turned to him and reached for her clutch. Natasha picked up the bill however, and said, "Pepper, really, I'm the one who's taking you out."

Pepper opened her mouth to respond, unsure of what to say. Letting Natalie pay would be admitting that it was a date but it might insult her at the same time if she didn't acknowledge that it was a date and let her do this. "Alright. Thank you, Natalie." She reached in stead for her cup of coffee as the bill was paid and she had to just be happy.

Long minutes passed as the two of them lingered over their coffee and she looked up at the other with a bit of a question in her eyes. Not an overt one, maybe not even one she could name if she was asked, but there was a search for something in the other woman. She seemed so enigmatic and elusive but at the same time that only made Pepper all the more interested in her.

It had gotten cold when the two women stepped out into the streets and had to part ways. Pepper wasn't sure how to do this, whether she should give a little physical gesture like Natalie had given at the beginning of their evening or if she should just say good bye. The burden was taken from her when the other reached out and graced her arm. "Good night. Get some sleep, you've earned it to have a night off. Okay?" She smiled and turned around, walking off to Pepper didn't know where. "Good night!" she called after her, heading back to her car.

That night she would go to sleep early after enjoying a bubble bath and watching an episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation. Commander Riker still had it going on.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, this is just a quickie; looking for a job is harder, I'm finding, than actually working.

* * *

The next morning, Pepper came into work feeling refreshed and well slept for the first time in too long. Even that morning she had been more alert to take care of things like her morning routine with more precision and alertness than she had been bringing to it. Add a cup of coffee on the way to her floor and Pepper was on full operation, or as near as she could ever be when she was going to work.

As she walked into her office, she had to walk past her assistant, who stood up with the usual greeting, as if nothing had changed between them since last night, much to Pepper's relief. "Good morning, Miss Potts, here are the files you need to review before your meeting at one." She looked down at the drink in Pepper's hand and then back up to her.

Pepper took the files in her arm. "Thank you, Miss Rushman." She layered the formality back on, not wanting to call her by her first name in the work environment now for some reason. Whether it was to reinforce for herself what had and had not happened last night, or if it was more for the rest of the workplace knowing that they were indeed formal with each other and there as nothing interesting going on between them.

The files were brought back with Pepper into her office and she laid them down next to her computer and opened to see over fifty emails waiting for her attention because she'd neglected them for five hours last night when she was on a silly date with a fake girlfriend. Worse was that every single one of them needed her personal attention as Natalie had already filtered through them for her. The spell that last night had put over her came crashing down and the reality of this job for which she was poorly trained and the new time commitments set in as she started to click through files and figure out what needed her attention the most, because there was simply no way this all was going to get done by the time she had to make her meeting if she had to read all of that that in the sheets she'd been given to look through. With no idea how she was going to recover from being so far behind short of working through the weekend, she began to chip away at what she needed to do.

Around noon, just as she was starting to really lose herself in the monotony of her work, the door opened to her office and she looked up, seeing her assistant not with her usual ipad and files but with a brown paper bag in her hand. "Yes, Miss Rushman?" She didn't remember if the other woman had said noon, now, but she had been fairly sure that it was one that her meeting was. "Please tell me I haven't forgotten anything." She looked a little frazzled and worn from her hasty work all morning.

The red head walked into the room and placed the bag on her desk. "I noticed you hadn't come from or left this room at all like you usually do." She started taking food out of the bag, as Pepper could see Korean tacos and something else she didn't think she could name. "So I brought you something to eat."

"Thank you," she replied. It brought back memories of when she would bring Tony something after he'd spent over a day in his lab and she thought he would starve himself in there. She had to admit; she was starting to understand now why he always did that and how essential people like this were. "Make sure you keep the receipts; I don't want the company paying for my lunches." She reached for the tacos and unwrapped the clear seran wrap.

"Of course." She lingered for a second longer, apparently having read the look of confusion at the brown lumps. "They're tater tots in duck fat. I think I remember you liking duck."

Pepper looked up at her at the reference to the night before. Somehow she had sort of thought that with the heavy work schedule today she could just play it off as if nothing had happened but that was clearly not the case. "Yeah, I like it. I've never tried these, though I'm pretty sure I've ordered from that vendor." She picked up the plastic fork that had come with the tacos, not wanting to get sauce on her keyboard and cut a bite as she went back to reading an email. The red haired assistant got the hint and went back to her work. Though her mind was occupied with other things, Pepper had a nagging sense about her relationship with Natalie.


End file.
